The Salopian no. 166 - Winter 2020-21

SCHOOL NEWS 11
available for the first time. Pupils
signed up in their droves and engaged
positively and meaningfully with the
programme, not just staying afloat but
positively buoyant.
2. Compass
Equally important is the need for a
navigational aid. A compass provides
a sense of direction, helps you find
your way when lost at sea, ensures you
don’t just drift aimlessly. Our compass
was set on a clear route as we looked
to get through the term in remote,
ensuring that we remained focused on
our destination. This was perhaps best
exemplified by the cast of the new
Shrewsbury School musical Gatsby, a
show that was due both to open the
new Barnes Theatre during Salopian
Week and then subsequently travel
to Edinburgh to be performed at the
Fringe. Neither, alas, proved possible,
but at no point did the cast and crew
give up. Instead, in true Salopian
style, they persevered in remote and
continued on their journey. Two of the
numbers were produced for inclusion
in the virtual Speech Day programme
and it is hoped that the show will get
its première in due course. The ship
may have docked for now, but it’s
ready to set sail again as soon as the
waters are calm enough!
3. Sustenance
Shrewsbury’s wide-ranging cocurriculum
seeks to nurture and
develop pupils’ interests and talents,
providing the inspiration for our pupils
to truly thrive. For many Salopians, it
is their participation in these pursuits
that makes their time at Shrewsbury so
special. We therefore wanted to ensure
that we continued to nourish those
interests, finding creative means of
supporting pupils working around the
challenges and parameters faced. Some
were easier than others to deliver:
the Model United Nations team were
quickly up and running, for instance,
with Zoom providing a relatively
efficient alternative to the debate and
discussion format. Others, particularly
sport, were more challenging, but with
a fair dose of imagination and a ‘can
do’ approach, these challenges proved
surmountable. Cricketers, for example,
were not only able to tap into online
skills sessions but were also treated
to Q&A sessions with professional
cricketers including former England star
James Taylor. The Boat Club likewise
supported the rowers through the
lockdown period with considerable
dedication, and many of the pupils
rose to the challenge of completing the
354km ‘Conquer the Severn Challenge’.
Wherever there were challenges, you
could bank on a team ready to take
them on!
4. Cord
Having a means of binding things
together also proves useful in a survival
scenario. There were many ‘connecting
threads’ through the remote period that
served to bind the Salopian community
together, whether it was the weekly
virtual Floreat celebrations of pupil
endeavour, enterprise and initiative, or
the virtual concerts, drama showcases
and weekly Grandstand-style Sports
Roundup. All were means by which we
could bring the Salopian community
back together and collectively share
and celebrate with each other wherever
we were in the world. The highlight,
perhaps, was the virtual Speech Day
at the end of the term which found
a creative means of marking the end
of the year with suitable style and
panache.
5. Means of lighting a fire
Most important of all, however, was
the ability to continue supporting our
pupils, providing the kindling to inspire
and ignite interest. That has always
been a core aim of the co-curriculum
and, in difficult circumstances, the
staff’s ingenuity ensured that these
fires of passion continued to burn,
and new ones were lit. A Dragon’s
Den-style activity provided opportunity
for budding entrepreneurs; the Great
Shrewsbury Bakeoff saw some
quite incredible culinary creations
(including the Main School Building in
cake form!), whilst the newly-created
Peel Society was a weekly highlight
for many as they explored an eclectic
range of musical genres and artists.
Future explorers had their appetite
whetted with the How to Become an
Adventurer sessions, pupils learned
new skills in the Calligraphy activity,
and the Magic Masterclass saw Sixth
Form maestro Rohan McCourt pass
on some of his considerable skills and
sleight of hand, igniting new passions
and developing skills in the next
generation of magicians.
The Summer Term may have been
about simple survival, but the return
to campus living and learning in the
Michaelmas Term saw us back to more
familiar territory and enjoying the rich
variety of Salopian life on site once
again. In the early part of term, we
benefited from some quite glorious
late summer weather, but more than
anything it was the radiance of a
campus revived with the sights and
sounds of pupils and staff coming back
together again that made for such a
vibrant first term back.
The campus has seen an absolute
feast of activity, with the first weekend
back a fine example. The Third Form
race – with three waves set off at
intervals – saw our new pupils don
their house vests for the first time,
whilst the football and hockey fields
were similarly awash with the vibrant
spectrum of house colours as fiercely
contested Inter-House matches filled
the first Saturday afternoon.
It got even better. The first Sunday
saw seven hours of Inter-House cricket
matches for the boys and an inaugural
girls’ House Football competition.
The former is something of a familiar